Restanza and the power of attachment in a Welsh slate valley

There has been a growing debate about the value of descriptors like ‘left behind’ to characterise places with low per capita incomes, especially as evidence increasingly points to the importance of attachment to (even deprived) places. This chapter explores attachment to place in one North Wales slate valley – Bro Ffestiniog – using survey data and contextual analysis. The chapter argues that the particular form of attachment evident here reflects local history and culture, including the Welsh language. However, this attachment, which includes the willingness of people to return to the valley and is characterised as restanza, is not stuck in the past. Instead, it reflects a reinvention of place through collective action to create jobs, maintain social infrastructure and sustain community, despite significant challenges to liveability.